Tag Archive for: jury magnolias

Must-have magnolias

must-have magnolias
How could anyone walk past magic, must-have, Jury magnolias in full bloom and not want at least one? This is Magnolia Felix™.

If you’ve seen a magical Jury Magnolia in bloom it’s a safe bet you’ve fallen in love and are making plans to plant one yourself. Which you’ll be pleased to know is also a smart decision because these are expertly bred, bullet-proof performers. Think high pedigree combined with the gorgeous looks of a supermodel. Also, they are small trees, which makes them super-easy to find a place for. In fact, the only tricky part is deciding which one of these must-have magnolias to choose. To make this simple, read on. And once you’ve brought your very special new Jury Magnolia home, make the effort to settle it in well* and then relax, because the brilliant plant-breeding know-how of the Jury family (of New Zealand) means these magnolias know how to look after themselves.

1. Magnolia Felix™... tends to get the most ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ simply because it is so big. Not the slow growing compact tree – which grows to a very manageable, upright sixteen feet or so – but the flowers. These are a whole foot across…. honestly…. and very luscious given their hot pink colouring. If you want an astonishing display in late winter and early spring (when exactly, depends on how cold your winters are), pick Magnolia Felix.

Magnolia Felix™ produces the largest most luscious flowers.

2. Magnolia Burgundy Star™... is for anyone who’s looking for something different. The flowers are like large star bursts of claret red held up on upward-reaching branches. Five inches across, they are also lightly fragrant. And if space is tight at home, this is your solution since this tree grows only three feet wide and ten feet tall.

must-have magnolias
Brilliant start-bursts of colour – this is Magnolia Burgundy Star™.

3. And then we have the wonderful tulips…  Magnolias Black Tulip™ & Honey Tulip™. To be honest, you either love this goblet shape or not, but for all those fans it’s brilliant to know there is a choice of two colours. One has flowers that are a gorgeous purple-black and the other has golden honey. Both trees grow to around eleven feet and the flowers of both are the same size (six inches). Which means it comes down to colour and what sits best with the plants already growing in your garden.

The goblet shape of Magnolia Black Tulip™ makes you think of a glass of deep purple Beaujolais wine.
Magnolia Honey Tulip™ has wonderful warm golden highlights that also hint at a glass of Chardonnay.

* How to plant a tree: water your magnolia in its nursery pot before you do anything else; then pick a spot and dig a hole about two feet across and as deep as the pot your magnolia is growing in; if the soil isn’t crumbly make sure you loosen it up so the new roots can grow through it more easily; drive a sturdy stake into the hole (slightly off centre) then tip your magnolia out of its pot and position it up as close to the stake as you can; back fill the hole and gently but firmly press the soil back around the tree’s root ball to help anchor it in place and create a slight bowl to help hold future waterings; using something flexible, soft but strong (like pantyhose) tie the tree to the stake figure-eight-style; then water the magnolia in very well; and water regularly once a week for the next few weeks. Easy.

The 4 best magnolias

the best magnolias
One look at the Jury Magnolia Felix® in full bloom is usually enough to convince anyone to rush out and plant their own.

If you lived way down south…. really south as in the southern hemisphere, as in the southern states of Australia, you’d be enjoying some cold crisp spring weather right now. And with it you’d be blown away by all the glorious Magnolia trees in bloom. No exaggeration, they are everywhere. It’s almost as though someone in the street decided to plant one, then once the neighbours clocked it in full bloom, they all went out and bought one too. As far as blossoming spring trees go, magnolias are very hard to upstage, and among the best-of-the-best are the magnolias bred in New Zealand by master plant breeder Mark Jury. What follows is a meet and greet – a quick introduction to the 4 best magnolias. Pick any one of them and you’ll be sure of three things: your Jury magnolia will thrive; it won’t ask for anything apart from air, sun and rain; and in a very short time it will be giving you (and your neighbours) a glorious show each spring.

A Gothic Goblet: there is nothing low key about Magnolia Black Tulip® (below). The flowers it produces in late winter and early spring are a magnificent, 15cm or six inches across. Their purple colouring nudges towards black and you can easily see how this magnolia got its name because the flowers are shaped like goblets. As far as tree size goes, it’s on the smaller side (3.5 metres or 12ish feet) so if you have limited space, you’re in luck as this tree is more upright than wide and will only spread out to about four feet, and even then, only after a decade or so.

Magnolia Honey Tulip: meet Black Tulip magnolia’s blonde bombshell sibling. Just imagine the same facts and stats – a smallish, upright tree smothered with gorgeous blooms – but this time those magnificent goblets look like they’re filled with a golden summer wine. And, not that we should feel good about having something over the gardeners in the southern hemisphere, but Magnolia Honey Tulip™ is only available in the USA and Europe.

Felix is the King: and for good reason. Felix Jury did all the groundwork behind the breeding of this astonishing magnolia and so it was an obvious choice for the family to name it after him. (It takes decades to breed magnolias so it’s often a family affair: Felix’s son Mark Jury is the current Jury family plant breeder.) The hot pink flowers that Magnolia Felix® (below) carries on its branches are astonishingly large – 30cm or a foot across. Really truly. The tree itself is upright, growing to around five metres (or 16ish feet) in 10 or so years. Magnolia Felix has the biggest flowers, it’s the tallest tree and it spreads out a bit with age.

Magnolia Burgundy Star: is also one to pay attention to. It’s not the tallest tree. It doesn’t have the biggest flowers. But it has a great score card overall. The tree is quite narrow which can be very handy in tight spots, growing to 3.5 metres or 12ish feet but only a metre or three feet wide. The flowers are a delicious claret red, 13cm or five inches across and they are fragrant. Let’s say that again – they carry a fragrance. So if you currently look out onto a narrow, bleak lightwell or courtyard, start planting and be sure to open the windows when your Magnolia Burgundy Star™ comes into bloom to enjoy the softly perfumed breezes.

the best magnolias

And one last note: these four Jury magnolias share a similar happy growth zone: USDA 5 – 9.

best small tree

3 steps to choose the right tree for your garden

3 steps to choose the right tree for your garden
Flowers the size of dinner plates on a graceful small tree – this is the Jury magnolia they call Magnolia Felix™ and it is probably the best of the best.

It’s a lucky gardener who gets to plant a tree. It’s also a biggish life decision – most trees live for decades – so no-one wants to make a mess of it. Here’s 3 steps to choose the right tree for your garden…

1: How big? A Great Dane puppy will outgrow a studio apartment and a forest giant will overwhelm a compact courtyard. If you’re new to this, it’s probably a good idea to look at smaller trees: that way you can’t go far wrong. Crepe myrtles, Japanese maples, Jury magnolias, crab apples, boutique eucalypts. Go out and take down a few measurements. Look up and make sure there’s nothing in the sky above which would be in the way of your future tree: other tree branches, power lines or the eaves of a building. Do a little research online and refer to your measurements to come up with your list of potential candidates. Now for step two…

3 steps to choose the right tree for your garden
But then again, Magnolia Burgundy Star™, also bred by the Jurys, is a great option.

2: Think about the sun. Trees have the power to change how a garden feels and functions. Evergreen trees – the ones that always have foliage and are never bare-branched – will provide permanent shade. Deciduous trees – the ones that lose their foliage in autumn – will provide summer shade and winter sun. Knowing this helps you decide what type of tree would work best for you. Do you want to permanently block an ugly view or gain some year round privacy? Then plant an evergreen like a citrus tree or an elegant eucalypt. Or do you want shade in summer and as much winter sunshine as possible? Plant a deciduous tree: a dogwood or a magnolia. Now to the third step…

Anyone who loves the classic magnolia will appreciate Magnolia Honey Tulip™ which has blooms that are a warmed up creamy golden colour.

3: A special bonus. Why not enjoy having a really special tree? One that’s more than just the perfect size and gives you the amount of sunshine that you’re after? If you do a little more research you can have one with flowers, fruit, even beautiful bark. If you’re keen on evergreen trees, a lemon is a great choice for fragrant flowers and all the lemons you and your friends could ever need. Crepe myrtles have lovely soft clouds of flowers but their bark is probably their greatest asset. And for glorious flowering trees, magnolias reign supreme, and the best of the best are the Jury Magnolias. When you’ve narrowed down to just a few options, make sure you pick the one that’s the easiest to grow with no fuss.

3 steps to choose the right tree for your garden
Tulip-shaped magnolia flowers look fantastic on a small tree that’s been planted as a feature: this is another Jury bred magnolia called Magnolia Black Tulip™.
Magnolia Black Tulip

Benefits of planting magnolia trees

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